Life Goes On
by Evroe
Summary: Serena is left holding the fort and help comes from all sorts of unexpected places.
1. Chapter 1

"Jason, I'm off to work. Don't forget to get some milk on your way home; we are almost out and there won't be enough for coco-pops tomorrow!", she smiled at him fondly as he nodded and scooped up the last of today's coco-pops that were drowning in browned milk.

"Have a good day ok", she patted his shoulder lightly, knowing that any more affection than that could have interesting consequences; Lord knows, she thought to herself absentmindedly, she could use some sort of affection from someone right now.

"Bye Aunty Serena, you have a good day too. I won't forget the milk." He replied. At least he doesn't change, she thought as she made her way out to the car. Since Bernie had left for Kiev, Serena had had to concentrate on someone or something to take her mind off her abject misery, and her relationship with Jason had become rather more, close as a result - she couldn't say if it was for him, but it was for her. It's not that she was neglecting him before that, it was just that she was able to put in a little more time and understanding. He was unbelievably difficult to deal with at times but she had been getting things right mostly and it was quite rewarding really. Serena needed to get things right; to be good at things and this was a challenge she could easily distract herself with. It helped her to completely ignore other things that might play on her mind.

She'd been continuing to distract herself with thoughts about the week ahead with Jason when she arrived at work. She'd driven to work almost on automaton and couldn't quite remember the exact route she took. This kind of thing had been happening a lot lately. Her mind just seemed to be elsewhere when it should have been on the task at hand. It was most worrying when it happened in theatre. As a result she'd been taking on less and less practical and burying herself in paperwork.

She found herself in the office with two coffees in hand, again not quite remembering how she'd got there. And it wasn't the first time she'd gotten a coffee for herself and one for Bernie. Bloody Bernie - who wasn't bloody here. As if she needed reminding. She certainly did not! She set them down on the desk and sank into her chair letting out a great sigh, "Oh for goodness sake Serena! You need to get a bloody grip!" Dropping her head into her hands. A quick short rap on the door broke her thoughts, her eyes snapped up to see it open followed by Raf's smiling head. "Morning! Hanssen was looking for you. He asked us to send you his way when you got in..." he said brightly. She instantly, defensively, racked her brain to think what that could be about but there was nothing immediately obvious, despite being short staffed things had been more subdued of late - or maybe that was just her - "Right. Ok, thanks Dr Di Lucca", he gently shut the door again. As she made to get up, she thought that she had been at Holby City long enough to know that this place was always so full of surprises, it could be about anything. Exhaling deeply, she briefly glanced at Bernie's empty chair opposite and quickly made her way out, desperately trying not to think about how much she missed her and how angry she still was about the whole darn thing.

Serena knocked on the door of Henrik's office and waited to be called in. As she opened the door, Henrik rose from his desk and she was about to ask what this was all about when she registered the presence of another person in the room. Also rising and turning towards her as she approached the desk, she found herself looking into familiar dark eyes that made her heart violently lurch... "Good morning Dr Campbell", he began, nervously thrusting his hand towards her. Absolutely floored by the overwhelming feelings of god-knows-what rising within her, she automatically took the hand in front of her and shook it weakly, quite flustered she finally managed to croak out a "G...good morn... Good morning Cameron".

Her feelings turned to confusion, she paused and glanced at Henrik for an explanation, "Ah, to.. to what do we owe this pleasure...?", she ventured, looking from Henrik back to Cameron, her mind then jumped to the thought that something might be wrong, suddenly concerned she asked, "Ah, is everything ok?"

Cameron smiled - god he looked like his mother, she felt herself flush slightly at the thought and she dropped her eyes to the floor momentarily as she tried to keep a look of panic and embarrassment off her face.

Sensing the strange atmosphere, Henrik pipes up finally, "Cameron approached me a couple of weeks ago with the view that he would like to continue his training. We have discussed it in quite amount of detail because, as we know, don't we, Dr Campbell" as if to stress the point to Cameron, "it's not something we want to take lightly." Cameron dropped his head in slight embarrassment at his apparent fickle nature.

Henrik, addressing Serena continued, "Without wishing to speak out of turn, I think it's fair to say that the recent accident helped to put things back into perspective for him. We have agreed that an internship with the AAU would be beneficial for his training", the colour began to drain from Serena's face as she realised what was happening, Henrik quickly continued so that there could be no argument, "so with that in mind I'd like to start him on the ward as soon as possible. Tomorrow."

Serena's eyes grew wide at the suggestion, and resentment at not being consulted in the plan grew within her. However, she didn't want to come across negatively toward Cameron, as much as her pride was being battered here, she still could not forget who he was, and she could not help but feel a touch maternal when she looked at his young, very familiar, face, so she very quickly set her own with a professional façade and responded, "Very well, god knows we could use the help, what with the... ah, shortage of staff we are experiencing on the ward recently."

Cameron looked at her with a mixture of happiness at her acceptance of him, but also of knowing that it was his own mother she was not all that subtly referring to. With that she turned to leave shooting a resigned look to Henrik as she did. She knew there was nothing she could do about the new arrangement; Hanssen always had a plan, she just wondered what it was.

Reaching her office she leant against the back of the door wondering what on earth she had done to deserve this. Babysitting Bernie's, frankly quite irresponsible son, was not the highest up on her bucket list and she couldn't help feeling a little resentful towards his mother at this. What else was going to land at her feet; it seemed the fallout from Bernie's departure just kept on coming. She would need a great vat of Shiraz at the end of all this, she thought as she picked up the now lukewarm coffee on her desk.


	2. Chapter 2

Serena arrived at the hospital and made her way up to Keller after the usual fly through Pulses for much needed caffeine. Holding two coffees and her bag, she stepped into the empty lift, absentmindedly pressed the button for the AAU and turned around to face back out. As she stared blankly ahead of her at the closing doors they were suddenly interrupted by an arm and dutifully reopened to allow entry to Cameron Dunn.

"Um, good morning Ms Campbell" he ventured cautiously when he saw that he had surprised her out of her half conscious state by his sudden appearance.

"Ah, yes hello Dr Dunn... sorry, I was miles away", she looked down at her coffees as if registering them for the first time. Cameron instantly thought of his mother in Kiev, he briefly wondered whether Serena had been thinking about her too as he watched her, closely registering the brief and resigned sigh she let out before she continued, "How do you have your coffee?". The lift began to move and she looked back up to him waiting for his answer.

"Um, white with two and a half brown sugars... ", he answered.

She let out a small, resigned laugh and smiled ruefully as she offered Bernie's coffee to him following its path with her gaze, "Yes, of course you do. Here."

It dawned on her then, that not only would she see Cameron's face and his smile, both of which that she knew would be a painful reminder every day, of her probable mistake in admitting her feelings to his mother. But that she would also probably continue this ridiculous new custom of buying a coffee every morning for Bernie, the invisible woman! She really needed to focus!

"Oh ok, thank you." He began as he took the gift in front of him. "How did you kn..." He stopped as he realised the answer to the question he almost asked, and perhaps more importantly, who the coffee was supposed to be for. They caught each other's eye briefly and both looked away. The embarrassment and awkwardness arising from the situation was dissipated only by the arrival of the lift on Keller.

As the doors opened and they made their way forward, Serena managed to collect herself together enough to get her first sensible sentence out for the day. She told Cameron that he would find scrubs etc in the staff change rooms and that Fletch would kindly show him where everything was. She introduced him to Fletch at the nurses station and told him to come and see her in the office for a briefing meeting as soon as he'd completed the tour.

Cameron watched her go toward her office with an obvious air of tiredness about her, she disappeared through it and shut the door to the ward behind her. He looked at the coffee in his hand and thought angrily about his mother and her latest escape from facing up to her life... "How many more people can she hurt? This time she may have gone too far, I'm not going to bloody let her", he thought.

"Penny for them mate?" Fletch said after a few moments.

"Is Serena ok?" He ventured "I mean, she seems very distracted if you know what I mean. She's definitely not the woman she was when I was here last, that's for sure."

Fletch knew better than to say outright that he thought Cameron's mum to blame for that and that she should be hung, drawn and quartered for doing what she did to Serena. So he settled, instead, with the rather more subtle, "Well, she usually brings two coffees in every morning but it looks like she managed not to today, so that's an improvement!" the grin leaving his face as Cameron held up his cup and shook his head to indicate there was no change there.

Fletch continued, "Hmmm. Well, I think since your mum went on her secondment, Serena's been feeling the extra pressure of running the Trauma Unit for her a bit..." Cameron tried to hide the guilt he felt on his mothers behalf, and Fletch perceptively tried to lighten the mood saying, "but now you're here to help reduce the load... maybe that will help snap her out of it, hey? C'mon mate, let's show you around".

Cameron gave an unconvinced half smile at that and followed Fletch for a tour of the Ward.

Dutifully reporting to Serena after his tour of the ward Cameron stepped into her office after being granted entry with a "Yep" from within. Looking up from her laptop she gestured for him to sit down in one of the chairs along the wall. "I trust that you know where everything is?" She enquired as he sat down. Somewhat of her usual demeanor had returned since he saw her last, for which he was glad. The paperwork she'd been doing had evidently roused her enough into a kind of professional, work mode and she seemed to be more in her element with it.

"Cameron," she began. "This is a busy ward as I'm sure you noticed the last time you were here..."

"Yes, I did Ms Campbell..." he interrupted, "When I was laying in the bed watching the goings on, I was very impressed with your team, you were all efficient and there was a nice atmosphere. Like a family, if you like." After a beat, he continued before she could, "I just want you to know that I'm not messing around this time. I have given this a great amount of thought and I now know that this is what I want to do. It's what I was always supposed to do."

He had rather taken the wind out of her sails with his speech, she was proud of her team and she was pleased the dynamic was clear to others, but she was also reminded that both his parents were unbelievably good at their jobs and she knew that he probably would be too, given his breeding. She was pleased for him, of course, she liked to see potential in anyone but she was also struggling with anything that placed Bernie back in the forefront of her mind. She remained silent.

Keen to reassure her, he reasoned, "I know my family have form, but, Ms Campbell, I'm not going anywhere. I won't let you down." The look in his eye was almost pleading with her to understand the point he was making. He was desperate for her to know that she could rely on him.

His effort was not lost on her, she appreciated his well meaning thoughts, and she wondered if he would make such efforts if he knew the true nature of his mothers relationship with her, especially given that the last relationship she'd had, effectively ended his parents seemingly happy marriage and broke up the whole family. She smiled gratefully, thanked him and told him that he would be shadowing Dr Digby. News at which his eyes lit up in the same way she'd seen his mothers do... or at least the way they did, when they caught each other's eye across the ward. Her heart gave a little lurch at the thought but she was also intrigued at what his reaction might have meant. She made a mental note to watch that closely.


	3. Chapter 3

Serena found herself watching Cameron from the nurses station as he followed Morven around the ward looking like a puppy dog. It didn't take her long to see that he was attracted to her. He was much more obvious about it than his mother was, perhaps he got that from his father. It was rather sweet really. Her heart swelled for him, and for Morven. She thought that it would be good for her to have the attentions of such a nice, not to mention very good looking, boy to help her heal. She wondered what the situation was with the woman he was with in the accident, what was her name...? Keely, was it…? Well, she hadn't been mentioned since his arrival. She remembered the sacrifice he was willing to make for her and that the fact that she was willing to put his future in danger to save herself. He could have been in gaol, arrested for manslaughter now if things had been different; she wondered if in the end it was too much for the survival of the relationship? She remembered then what she had been willing to do for Bernie too, what she had done for her; she regretted that her actions and loyalty, despite them being against her morals and the law, didn't seem to even be enough for Bernie to stay. She shook off the thought and again focused on the new addition to the team.

Cameron had an easy manner about him and it seemed that he was instantly liked by everyone. She wondered how much being the formidable Bernie Wolfe's son, had an effect on opinions about him though. She was aware that the team were curious about his interaction with her, at least. They could never be called subtle, that lot. She loved that about them, they felt like her extended family. She certainly felt like their mother at times and she could see that Cameron was not going to be any different to the rest of them in that respect.

"Serena," Raf interrupted, "Jason is on the phone."

"Ok, thanks Raf, I'll take it in my office," she answered as she rose and made her way to the office. She picked up the phone and braced herself for what Jason might be calling about at this odd hour, "Hello Jason, everything ok?"

"Hello Aunty Serena," he started, "Yes, everything is ok. I've been told I can leave early today, shall I come to you?"

"Oh, right, ok Jason… I'm sure we can find some things for you to help us with." After hanging up the phone she mumbled to herself something about this being all she needed on top of everything else. She also thought that she really needed to stop talking to herself so much. And she allowed herself a moment of amusement at her madness.

After Jason arrived, he promptly met Cameron in a not too dissimilar way to the way he met Bernie. He'd been sorting magazines again, and quite unashamedly telling anyone who would listen, what he thought of the current system. This time it happened to be Cameron walking past. At first Cameron was taken aback by Jason's apparent direct and frank manner but he soon realised he was dealing with a unique personality. When asked who he was, as it was bluntly pointed out that, "I have not seen you around here before." Cameron introduced himself. Jason told him exactly who he was and why he was there in return, leaving no room for doubt. Cameron, who didn't know about Serena's nephew, immediately felt for all the other things that Ms Campbell had to deal with on top of his mother's recent behaviour. He really was beginning to admire her more and more. It wasn't until he mentioned that Bernie Wolfe was his mother that Jason really took notice.

"Oh, I have met Bernie. She's really nice. She encouraged me to write my CV so that I could get a job. She let me follow her on her rounds once, she is very good at her job. That's what Aunty Serena says. I think so too. Although, Aunty Serena didn't think that at first, you know. She's in the Ukraine at the moment on a secondment. In Kiev. She will be gone for 3 months so she will be back in 1 month. Aunty Serena misses her a lot. She used to stare at Bernie but now she just stares into space instead. I miss Bernie too. Especially on fish and chip night." He finished enthusiastically.

Cameron laughed, and wondered who on earth it was that Jason had met! But he knew, he though about the buttons left under his pillow and the perfume left as a reminder when she went on a tour. He knew that his mum did care about people. Just that she was bloody hopeless at showing it. They began walking toward the ward.

"Yes, mum likes Serena a lot too, I think." He said cautiously. He wasn't sure what, or how much, Jason knew.

"Oh, I think they love each other." He stated simply. To which Cameron stopped and looked directly at him. "Yes Jason, I think they do too." He smiled, "What do you think we should do about it?"

"When Bernie gets back, we should help them to be happy." Jason answered.

"Yes, I agree. We should make a plan!" said Cameron with a little mischief flickering into his eye. He held out his hand to Jason, who responded with an excited, conspiratorial shake.

Meanwhile Hanssen had entered Serena's office.

"I know you're missing Ms Wolfe in the Trauma Unit and having her son here, as a reminder of her absence, everyday won't be easy but I have a good feeling about him Serena. I know that he'll flourish under your care." He maintained.

"It's quite clear to me, Henrik, that I have no choice in the matter so I'm not sure why you are here. Besides, it's fine. I can see that he has tremendous potential, he is the great Bernie Wolfe's son after all." She said slightly sarcastically as she glanced out of the office window at Cameron and Jason entering the ward. She noticed that they were happily deep in conversation and when finished, they gave each other a high-five. "He certainly has… a… way…. with… people…" she trailed off as she marveled at how he had seemingly managed to deal with Jason with ease after having only just met him. She then remembered how easily Bernie made it into Jason's affections too, and briefly though that she shouldn't be surprised.

Henrik followed her gaze, gave a knowing smirk as he made to leave, "I'll leave you to it Serena." And exited the office.


	4. Chapter 4

"Aunty Serena."

"Yes Jason."

"We're nearly out of milk again."

"Yes. We are. And, coincidentally enough, we're nearly out of Coca Pops too."

"Lucky it's Friday and we can get some more tomorrow when we go shopping."

"Yes, that is lucky isn't it."

"Aunty Serena?"

Exasperated. "Yes Jason?"

"When is Bernie coming back?"

Serena let out a deep sigh, "I really don't know the answer to that… Why do you ask?"

"It's fish and chip night. It's always much better when she's there."

Oh thanks a lot, she thought to herself. "Yes, I know. She makes it fun, doesn't she."

"You should call her and find out when she will be home."

She glanced at his innocent face. She let out a small laugh, "I do love you, you know."

"I already know that, Aunty Serena, you've told me thousands of times! You should be telling that to Bernie. Not me. And then maybe she will come back and we can do fish and chip night all together again."

Serena stood there speechless.

* * *

Cameron pressed send on the text and waited for her response. He knew she wouldn't take long, she'd been making an effort lately to communicate as much as she could after their breakthrough at the hospital.

' _Way to get to the point Cam! Why are you getting involved in this?_ '

' _Because I care, mum. And it's time you stopped running from your responsibilities. There are people you have left behind who aren't used to you doing your disappearing act, they don't understand and they have been hurt as a result. You need to fix it mum. They don't deserve your silence. She doesn't deserve it. Grow up and face your feelings._ '

He got no response.

' _Mum?_ '

Nothing.

' _Mum, you taught me something valuable just recently... that it's not worth sacrificing what you really want for a lie. You should take this advice. I did._ '

' _Wise boy._ '

' _Yes I am, I have a great teacher, whom I love. I want her to be happy. Just come back and get her before it's too late. Cam x_ '

' _I love you too Cam. What do you mean too late? And what do you mean about sacrificing what you really want… what have you done?_ '

Nothing.

' _Cameron, has something happened?_ '

Bernie took a deep breath. Perhaps he was right. Her heart was breaking a little bit more every single day and for what? She couldn't answer that question if she was honest. What did he mean by too late, she thought. God knows, she knew that she left Serena in a frankly, unbelievably poor way. But she freaked out! She'd run through how she'd do it differently thousands of times and each time she ended up happy. Then she'd snap back to reality.

She began to type a text…

' _Have you ever heard the story the boy who cried wolf? Well, I'm the boy (and the Wolfe, funnily enough). I've made a great mistake. B x_ '


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I'm so glad the story is being enjoyed. Just a little warning, this chapter is a bit sweary.

"Oh… bloody…. buggery…. bollocks!" Serena muttered to herself through gritted teeth. "It's like groundhog day in here!" She'd arrived at her desk with two coffees and no mobile phone. She put her coffee down and walked out again towards the Nurses station looking to jettison the extra coffee to Cameron, which she did everyday, she hoped it didn't look too much like favouritism, it was just that she didn't like to waste it. As she approached the desk Fletch received her with a jolly, "Good morning Ms Campbell," Serena noticed the glint in his eye when he continued with a conspiratorial, "Robbie the Bobby is here to see you!" he winked and nodded towards the wall behind her.

She snapped her head around to see him push himself off the wall and come towards her with a warm smile. "Ah, what are you doing here Robbie?"

"Well hello Serena… I'm here because there is someone I'm interested in on the ward today." he replied with a grin. Immediately she registered that it was still that sexy grin she'd known before. She narrowed her eyes and enquired, "Oh yes, who's that then?" as she scanned the ward for any dodgy looking characters that might be the recipient of his attentions.

He looked at her seriously, "Can we talk in your office?"

"Hmm, ok. Why do I get the feeling this isn't good?" she countered.

He led her in the direction of the office by putting a guiding hand on the small of her back, which she instantly thought was way too intimate. But it felt damned nice to be touched.

"What's happened Robbie?"

"Serena. I've been thinking about you a lot lately…"

"Riiight, I knew this wasn't good. Do mean to tell me that you have come all the way here to tell me that?"

He whispered and stepped closer to her, "I miss you… I miss your company… I miss sex with you."

She sucked in a sharp breath as she heard him say this. She felt weak. Bernie's face flashed before her eyes and she felt a violent tremor of carnality go through her, she looked directly at him and thought, what the hell! She was tired of waiting for bloody Bernie. She felt like she'd been wound up to bursting point by her only to be left on the edge unfinished, and "a woman's got needs!" she thought. Robbie was familiar and he was quite capable of doing the job, she remembered.

"I finish at 7 today. Meet me in Pulses then."

After his shift ended, Cameron watched them wordlessly leave Pulses together, he didn't know who this 'Robbie the Bobby' was, but he knew what was happening in that very moment so he text his mum to finally answer her question about just what it was that was happening.

She took him home. It was not how she envisaged the day going; poor Robbie, she was about to use him wantonly, but she didn't care. For once she was going to get what she needed.

* * *

Bernie waited. She began to feel like she had really fucked up.

Cameron's text earlier in the day had not helped the situation. ' _Mum, have you called her yet? Cam X'_

Her response was that she'd texted her… but that she'd not responded yet. She had been wondering how on earth he seemed to know what was going on with Serena.

' _Oh. Well you may have left it all too late mum, I think you've got competition. Robbie the Bobby?! You really need to get your arse back here. x'_

She hadn't been expecting a response from Serena right away, lord knows she had treated her so shoddily she wouldn't blame her if she took her time to get back to her. But she had expected something within 24 hours at least, even an angry tirade would be better than nothing. Wouldn't it?

She dialed Serena's number. She wasn't ready to do this, nor did she know what she was going to say but she felt she needed to do something; she was beginning to panic. Voicemail. Shit. She hung up.

She could not sleep; she looked at her watch. 3.30am, what was that? 1:30am UK time? Why hadn't she responded yet? It had been well over 24 hours. It was unlike Serena not to be onto a text, it said it had been delivered under the little blue text bubble on her phone, but not that it had been read. She knew she kept her mobile handy just in case something happened with Jason so why hadn't she even read it yet? She briefly consoled herself with the thought that it was entirely possible Serena could just be tied up in a long and complicated surgery.

Nevertheless her mind continued to race. Robbie the Bobby! Who the hell was that? "Oh, come ooooooonnn Bernie!" she moaned as she tossed and turned in her bed. What are ya gonna do? Had Serena mentioned him before? She didn't think so. Maybe. Oh god, she couldn't remember. She was going mad. What are you going to do? "Stupid, stupid, stupid." She mumbled to herself over and over.

"Jason. I'll find out what is happening from him!" She thought. She picked up her phone and composed a text to Jason; _'Hi Jason. How are you? How is the job going? I thought I'd check to see if everything is going ok with you and your Aunty Serena. I hope all is well and I hope i'll see you again soon when I get back. Bernie Wolfe x'_

Pathetic! She sent it anyway. She couldn't think of anything else to do, at the very least Jason would be direct, truthful and prompt. That was just what she needed right now.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So, I'm in Australia visiting the folks for these crucial Berena weeks… I have just 'watched' yesterdays episode through the Berena twitter fandom while eating my breakfast! So funny to do it that way, rather than watch on YouTube, which I have avoided doing so far - I'd prefer to watch the whole episode.

Anyway, Thanks again for the reviews, favs, and follows.

* * *

"Hello Jason."

"Oh hello Robbie, what are you doing here?"

"Oh I came here with Serena last night because she was helping me with a case, and I stayed over because it got a bit too late to go home."

"Hmmm, riiight. Is that really true?" Jason directed at him, Robbie looked away sheepishly. "Where is Aunty Serena?"

"She's just in the shower she'll be out in a minute. Oh, is that coca pops? Can I have some?"

"No. There is only enough left for breakfast tomorrow before we go shopping again on Saturday."

"Oh ok. Perhaps I could have some toast instead..?" He tried.

"We ran out of that too. Maybe you should go and get some breakfast somewhere else. There is a Krispy Creame shop at the station! Isn't that what you eat?"

"Jason! Please try and be a little friendlier to our guest" Serena chastised as she entered the kitchen.

"It's OK Serena," Robbie began.

"No! It's not ok," Said Jason suddenly. "I know what you think of me... I know why it didn't work out with you two last time. People talk at the hospital. So no, I can't be a little friendlier. I know why you were really here last night. You think I'm stupid, don't you?"

"Jason… stop." Serena pleaded.

"Turning to Serena, Jason matter of factly says, "You love Bernie, so why is he even here Aunty Serena?" Her face paled.

"Bernie? Who is Bernie?" Robbie asked.

"Oh for gods sake Robbie." She snapped at him. "Please… Jason is right! Why are you here? Well, I know why you're here… God! You know what I mean. If you were to be with me the issues have not cnhanged! That's quite clear isn't it?"

"Who is Bernie, Serena? Who the hell is he?" He persisted angrily.

"Major Berenice Wolfe, eminent trauma surgeon of the British army actually. She's the best of the best. And Aunty Serena….."

"Yes alright, thank you Jason!" She cut him off.

"Aunty Serena what…?" Robbie looked at her directly. She defiantly returned his look.

"Aunty Serena and Bernie love each other." Said Jason triumphantly.

"After a beat, Robbie seemed to grasp the situation, "What?" He spat. Serena buried her face in her hands, "Oh for fucks sake," she mumbled under her breath.

"What, Serena? What's he on about?"

"I am right here Robbie the Bobby."

"Shut up Jason," he shot losing his temper with him.

"Get out! Robbie, just get out! You just don't get it do you?" Serena cried, exasperated. "Don't you dare speak to him like that, god, I can't believe I did this. You never change do you! It's all about you all the time, Robbie. Guess what, you don't get me without Jason. No way, anytime so think about that before you come back in to the hospital to sweep me off my feet."

"Well, I think if I remember correctly it was all about you last night!" He snapped.

"Yes and what a blessed change that was! Well you can forget about that Robbie because it ain't gonna happen again and… there is someone else, and I shouldn't have done what I did."

"Who the fuck is Berenice? And did you say that Berenice is a woman?" He cried incredulously.

"Please don't swear. Yes she is. And she is probably the love of my life. Just please go will you." She said with finality.

"Bewildered, Robbie bundled himself toward the door and out of the house followed by Serena. "Fucking hell Serena! Aren't you a bit old for a lesbian fling?" He shot.

"Go!" She hissed as she pushed him out the door.

"Serena stood there for a few moments taking in all that just happened while she watched him leave. Her wanton abuse of Robbie in her bed, right up to her complete rejection of him just now. Poor bloke. She doubted he would be back in a hurry. She didn't care, she was very clear about what, who she wanted. There was no contest.

"Jason approached her at the doorway and put his hand on her shoulder. "Bernie text me last night…"

Serena froze. Why on earth was Bernie texting Jason when she had made no effort to contact her at all over the last 2 and a bit months. She felt monumentally hurt and the familiar anger began to bubble away again in the pit of her stomach. Aware of Jason, she managed to croak out an, "Oh."

"Yes."

"Wh.. what d..did she want?"

"She wanted to know how we were."

"She looked up at him and said to herself, "Fucking hell Bernie, you coward! What's wrong with you?" She said, "Have you answered?"

"Yes." He replied simply. "I wanted to say that we are all just fine, but we aren't are we?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well everything isn't fine, is it Aunty Serena?"

"What do you mean, Jason?" She probed.

"You love Bernie and she isn't here. But you brought Robbie home last night, and I know what that means. So now I'm confused about whether you kiss boys or girls. And that's not fine. And I can't very well just say that we're all fine in a text when it is just not true!" He explained.

"She felt her heart lurch for him. She didn't think about how much this all might affect Jason, in fact she didn't think much about anyone else, especially last night. "No. You can't."

"So I told her about Robbie and how she just needs to get back here because I think you really love her. And I told her that if she didn't come home that I wasn't sure what would happen. Because I know what Robbie thinks of me and I can't live with him."

"You told her all that?" She asked. "Good!" she thought bitterly. Perhaps this might get Bernie to think about her actions and the consequences of them. If she realised that it wasn't just the two women involved in this relationship, she might just face up to things. Serena knew that Bernie wasn't a bad person, she knew that her kids meant a lot to her, and so did Jason. Cameron had let slip the other day that he was in touch with her. She had a feeling that he had been giving her a hard time too. It kind of made her feel good that their little family were all in it together - the ones she'd met anyway; even if Bernie didn't really know that.

"Now what do I tell her?" He asked. "now that Robbie is gone?"

"I think you just keep quiet about that for now and we'll see what happens. What do you say?" In truth, even though Serena knew what she wanted, she couldn't help but feel that Bernie deserved to feel a little bit of pain and guilt at what Jason had said to her in his texts.

"Ok." He agreed. After a short while, "Aunty Serena, are you ok now?"

"She smiled wanly at him, "Yes, I think so. C'mon, lets get ready to go to work huh."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: As I'm still in Sydney not having seen the latest episodes, I'm now winging it! Thanks to the Berena fandom on twitter for their commentary and links to previews. It's all I've seen for two weeks.

As always, thanks for reviews etc.

* * *

Bernie woke from a restless sleep and instantly remembered the content of Jason's texts. She was spot on when she thought that he would be prompt. Part of her wished she wasn't so right when he was truthful and frank.

She felt sick to the stomach when she thought about what Serena had been up to in her absence; she could hardly blame her though, given her ongoing rotten treatment of her.

She rued her decision to opt for radio silence while in Ukraine. It wasn't like she didn't want to contact her; she was desperate to, in fact. There had been enough time, after only two days, for the old adage of absence making the heart grow fonder, to really take hold. Just thinking about her sent a shot of butterflies around her chest, and this had been amplifying the more that time dragged on. Before Bernie left, she had honestly thought that she might have encouraged Serena into something she might regret - especially when Serena intimated that she might love her! And in her panic, she did what she always did. Ran. She winced at the recollection of it all.

When Bernie had realised what Cameron had been trying to tell her, she knew she was going about the whole 'giving Serena time and space to think about everything tactic' in all the wrong way. She had a lot to learn. This love thing sure wasn't easy; she hadn't got it right with Marcus, nor did she with Alex. She had lived Marcus, they'd had beautiful children, they were both very successful in their careers. She had admired him for his success but she knew admiration was not the same as love. If she was honest, she knew it long ago. She thought about Alex and their type of love; built in an exciting, dangerous environment, which she quickly realised, wasn't going to work outside of those circumstances. Alex gave her an awakening about herself that she had never fully acknowledged, but that explained a lot about why she and Marcus didn't quite work when it should have.

Then she thought about her circumstances at Holby City: the real shot she had at happiness with the person, whom she now knew, she was meant to be with; and the challenging job that she was meant to have. The Ukraine Trauma Unit was an exciting prospect which she had relished when she'd first arrived, but that feeling had only lasted a couple of days until she realised something was badly wrong. It hadn't given her the buzz that she normally got in the heat of battle torn places, and she realised that she was chasing something that wasn't so essential for her anymore. Instead, she became miserable and lonely.

Bernie groaned as she rolled over and pulled her legs over the side of the bed to sit up. She noticed her phone poking out of the side of the mess of blankets and decided she'd had enough bad news for one day, and got up to have a shower, leaving it unchecked. She reasoned that her shift started in 45 minutes, so she needed to get ready. Had she looked at the phone, she would have seen the blinking message from Jason updating her on this mornings events. Instead, the phone sat forgotten as she closed the door heading in for her shift.

Bernie had taken a shower where she had done some thinking; all her best thinking was done there, and had been resolute in her decision about what to do. If Serena wasn't going to respond to her, she would just have to make it impossible for her not to. She was now very clear about what she had to do.

* * *

Serena followed Jason back into the house, making her way down the hall past the dresser where she noticed her mobile phone sitting there. She picked it up and tried to turn it on. Out of battery. She picked it up and dropped it into her bag; she could charge it at work, she thought.

On her arrival Serena grabbed her coffee and took it up to her office. She laid it on the desk and congratulated herself when she noticed just the one cup. She thought back to her journey in, and was pleasantly surprised that she remembered most of it. Her mood lightened at the thought that she wasn't in such a daze. She giggled to herself when she thought about the wonders of a little bit of 'taking care of yourself' and gave Robbie a little laugh of thanks. She felt good for the first time in ages and ready to take control of the AAU. As such, she marched out of the office towards the team and gave everyone orders for the day.

Raf, Morven and Fletch all watched the Serena they knew and loved, return in front of their eyes, and as much as it made them happy, they felt weighted down with renewed tasks, only sort of glad things were back to normal. Cameron, on the other hand, looked upon her with a mixture of awe and of dread. For the first time he saw why she had the reputation she did. He could also see that whatever happened last night had changed her demeanour; snapped her out of it, and wondered whether it was all too late for his mum. He was disappointed, he'd really have liked Serena to be around as part of his family, and Jason. He'd become fond of them both, even extolling their virtues to Charlotte, who had secretly liked the sound of them, far better than Alex. As far as Charlotte was concerned, Alex was stuck with the dubious honour of being the other woman in the breakup of their family, Serena was not.

He'd have to speak to Jason later to find out what had transpired, obviously he would have to tread carefully around the sticky subject. In fact, he thought to himself, it might be good for Jason and Charlotte to meet.


End file.
